Zeme North (Zeme Lou North)

Biography

Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

Zeme Lou North was born, in 1938, to Mr. and Mrs. Walter North of Corpus Christi, Texas. Little did they know that their new daughter would be something very special. From the time she was two and a half years old when she put on her first performance, dance defined Zeme's life. Because she walked pigeon-toed and was flatfooted, her mother put her in ballet class to strengthen her arches and stretch her leg muscles. Along the way, a California dance teacher told Zeme that she just didn't have the build of a dancer. Through sheer determination, she proved the teacher wrong. Read more... By the age of ten, Zeme had complete correction of her arches, but continued her dance lessons throughout her school days, in fact, teaching them, eventually. At W.B. Ray High School, Zeme studied dramatics and sang with the school's dance band. She also sang in an Episcopal church choir. She graduated 14th of 500 students, as an honor student, in 1955 after only three years of high school. It was in Dallas and the State Fair musicals where Zeme got her first big break into show business. She did shows like "Can Can" and "Showboat". With money in her wallet, Zeme left for New York. It was a difficult town to crack and she knew it. Roles were few for an inexperienced actress, and she got few shows. She modeled clothing for teen magazines, although her modeling was limited by her diminutive size of 5' 2". She also did ads for General Electric and Dupont. Zeme's first real job was as a member of the famed June Taylor Dancers in the Automobile Industrial Show. Her first national TV appearance was on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) (aka "The Ed Sullivan Show") on 27th April 1958, where she sang a duet with Sal Mineo. She also appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show (1952), Sing Along (1958), in which Bobby Darin was a guest, and was a Miss County Fair on Bert Parks' County Fair (1958) in December of 1958.

Zeme felt she needed help with her dramatics and decided to attend Columbia University. Her hard work at the famed Berghof Studio paid off, when she was given her first-ever acting role in movies and TV, when she guest-starred on the short-lived NBC-TV situation comedy, Too Young to Go Steady (1959). Broadway finally hired her and she did the 1959 show, "Take Me Along". This was Zeme's only Broadway show. In January of 1960, Broadway producer Frank Loesser felt that even though Ellen McCown was doing the role of "Dorrie" in his new show, "Greenwillow", adequately, McCowan was, at 28, perhaps too old for the part and Zeme beat out 100 actresses to get the role, and her picture appeared in a number of Texas newspapers. This, unfortunately, was Zeme's only moment of glory, because when the show took to the road for preliminary exposure, it did badly, she was dropped and McCowan was back as "Dorrie". This setback might have hurt Zeme, but there was only one way to recoup the loss and she put on excellent performances in the off-Broadway show, "Fiorello". She was praised in the press for her performances. In 1961, Zeme went west to start an acting career in Hollywood. Her first Hollywood role was as a carhop named "Tina" in the popular TV show 77 Sunset Strip (1958)'s episode, 77 Sunset Strip: Brass Ring Caper (1962). She also did Route 66: Blues for the Left Foot (1962) and then her first movie, Zotz! (1962). It was released the same day that Zeme guest-starred on Wagon Train: The Madame Sagittarius Story (1962).

1963 was a big year for Zeme. She guest-starred on three TV shows, including The Greatest Show on Earth: Uncaged (1963). The producers on the show wanted her to ride horseback with Fabian, but Zeme had never ridden a horse, before. The producers couldn't believe it, assuming that everyone from Texas could ride. Zeme politely declined the horseback ride. She also did her second and final movie, Palm Springs Weekend (1963). The director, Norman Taurog, praised her performance to the sky. But in 1964, she put on her best performance as an actress. After doing Temple Houston: Ten Rounds for Baby (1964), she put on a masterful performance on Perry Mason: The Case of the Bountiful Beauty (1964). Playing the 20-year-old million selling novelist, "Deborah Dearborn", Zeme displayed emotion beautifully, and even Deborah's explosive temper. She guest-starred on two other shows that year, Rawhide (1959) and Bonanza (1959). She also guest-starred on two shows in 1965, My Three Sons (1960) (for the second time) and The Legend of Jesse James (1965). But in 1966, Zeme finally got what is so coveted by the actor, a regular role. Because O.K. Crackerby! (1965) was doing badly on ABC, it was dropped at mid-season and replaced by Luther Davis' situation comedy, The Double Life of Henry Phyfe (1966). Zeme was cast as "Judy Kimball", Henry's girlfriend. However, this show also did badly and was dropped at the end of the 1965-66 season. She guest-starred on only one more show after this, the ill-fated CBS situation comedy, Run Buddy Run (1966), and retired from acting, afterwards.

Zeme was a trailblazer of the Corpus Christi actress, and such actresses as Farrah Fawcett have followed in her footsteps. But Zeme paved the way, inspiring such actresses to pursue acting careers.